Bmi suspends Damascus route

Bmi’s flights between London Heathrow and the Syrian capital of Damascus are to be suspended on May 29.

The country has been rocked by violence over the last year, with mass demonstrations against the Syrian government, and a crackdown on protesters by the authorities.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office currently advises against all travel to the whole of the country, while a post on Bmi’s website says the decision for the withdrawal from the route has been made “due to commercial reasons”.

Meanwhile Bmi has confirmed it will not relaunch flights to Tripoli, following the purchase of the carrier by International Airlines Group (IAG).

Bmi had launched flights to the Libyan capital back in February 2011, only for them to be cancelled a week later due to political unrest in the country (see online news February 22, 2011).

British Airways also cancelled its flights at the time, although these were reinstated on May 1 this year (see online news January 23), and in statement Bmi said that:

“Following the successful purchase of Bmi by British Airways, plans for the resumption of flights to Libya are to be consolidated. As a result Bmi will not resume its flights to Tripoli.

“Customers can book on British Airways flights to and from Tripoli, which start[ed] on Tuesday 1st May 2012 and operate three times a week.

“If you have an existing booking with bmi to Tripoli, you will be re-booked onto a British Airways’ flight.”